28 January 2010

61 something or other

last night's ride home on the 72 displayed the best and worst in human behavior. I sat at the end of a 4-person seat, soon joined by a young woman, followed by a man whose ample gluteal area consumed 2 seats. A few stops later, an older woman got on the bus and, with no place to sit, she grabbed an overhead strap and stood in front of our seat. I could see her holding her purse and her hand shook, somewhat like a Parkinson's tremor. No sooner did I notice her affliction than the young woman next to me stood up and told the older woman to take her seat. A kind, generous act - I feel comforted when I see this behavior in younger people - like unearthing buried treasure - civility found!

The worst behavior occurred a bit later when a young man boarded and used a reduced-fare card without an ID. The driver asked for the ID and the young man responded in a menacing tone that he "don't got to show you no ID, you just drive the bus". The driver pursued the issue, saying bus policy required proper ID with reduced-fare cards and the young man walked away from the driver, saying, "school told me I don't got to show you nothin' so you just drive the bus". The driver told him to read the back of the fare card (ha!) and the next time he rode the bus, be prepared to show ID. The young man said, "you just drive the bus, you ain't in charge of no policy, you just drive the bus." Each statement from this man/child contained threat and menace and the bus became extremely quiet during the confrontation. The youth sat down, in the front near the driver, and kept repeating, "you just drive the bus." The bus continued and the driver didn't say any more. Suddenly, the young man got out his cell phone and I could hear him say, "customer service" - I knew he had called the bus company and planned to complain. He remained on hold for awhile and just as he began to speak to someone, his stop arrived and he got off the bus.

During the whole ride, the driver checked ID for every reduced-fare rider. He didn't single this kid out -- he just did his job. Clearly, this kid wanted to put on his best urban tough street gangster style and he really only looked ridiculous. Like a mudslide, this kid's behavior buried the civility that earlier graced the ride.